Cornwall's Marshall leaving mark at SUNY New Paltz

Carly Marshall isn't much of a morning person, but she knows if she wants to meet her swimming goals, practicing for a few hours, no matter how early in the day, is a must.

Just before Marshall walked into Elting Pool, coach Scott Whitbeck had placed Marshall's name on the wall's record board. Marshall swam a pool-record 59.45 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly last Friday, breaking a mark set four years ago by more than a minute.

"I'm a senior, so I was really itching for that," said Marshall, a Cornwall graduate who was present for the 6:20 a.m. team meeting Thursday. "I wanted it to be up there."

Marshall's name fills New Paltz's record board. She holds the school's best times in the 100 freestyle (58.58 seconds) and 200 butterfly (2 minutes, 7.93 seconds). Marshall was a part of New Paltz's record-breaking 200 and 400 medley relay teams.

Records excite Marshall, but they don't completely drive her. Winning does. She has a simple goal this season.

"I want to blow everyone out of the water for my last year," Marshall said.

Whitbeck was researching the program's history last summer when he found an interesting note on Marshall. She is the first female in the school's 50 years of swimming to win the 200 butterfly in the SUNY Athletic Conference championships. Marshall won the last two SUNYAC 200 butterfly titles in February after battling pneumonia in late January.

"She's been one of the most successful women in the history of the program," Whitbeck said. "She's not done yet."

Early morning practices are worth it, Marshall said. Swimming is her life. She's found a balance between the sport and school.

"It's kind of really demanding," said Marshall, who transferred from C.W. Post after her freshman year. "It takes me a lot in school. I really need to focus in on that. I spend a lot of my time just swimming. If I had anything else to do, I would be too tired to go."

Marshall has some unfinished business in the pool. She has finished second in the 100 butterfly at the SUNYAC championships the last two seasons.

"It's going to take a lot of work," said Marshall, a national qualifier in the 200 butterfly in 2011. "I've been working really hard. Usually, I don't lift so much, and I've been lifting a lot and just listening to what my coach says because he knows what to do. I know my body, but he knows the sport."

Marshall wants to finish her career with a bang.

"I've been counting down the days until the conference championships," on Feb. 21 in Buffalo, Marshall said. "I can't wait."